Rail friction-clamp



(No Model.) W. EMMETT.

RAH; FRICTION GLAMP. No. 328,927. Patented Oct. 27, 1885.

WITNESSES INVENTOR jun .7 BY

m ATTORNEYS.

I UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

WILLIAM EMMETT, OF LOGANSPORT, INDIANA.

RAIL FRICTION-CLAMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 328,927, dated October27, 1835.

Application filed August 8, 1884. Serial No. 140,002. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM EMMETT, of Logansport, in the county of Cassand State of Indiana, have invented a new and Improved RailFriction-Clamp, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription. I

The object of my invention is to provide a new and improved clamp forholding rails to gether at the joints in such a manner that the heads ofthe-rails will be in the same place, and thus the hammering down of theends of the rails will be avoided. I also dispense with the bolts, andneed not provide the rail or joint plate.

The invention consists in the peculiar construction and arrangements ofparts, as hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings,forming part of thisspecification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan View of the under side of my improved rail-clamp.Fig. 2 is a crosssectional View of the rail and an end view of theclamp.

The clamp is formed of two like sections, A B, which are placed againstopposite sides of the rails. The upper parts of the clampbars A are bentto fit against the web and upper surface of the base of the rail 0, andthe base of each clamp is so arranged in relation to the clamp that whenthe clamp rests upon the upper surface of the base of the rails andagainst theweb of the rail the free edge of the base of the clamp willrest against the edge of the base of the rail and the inner part of thebase of the clan1pthat is,that part where the clamp-bar and its base areunited will be a short distance from the adjoining edge of therail-base, as shown in Fig. 2. The bases A B of the two clamp-bars A Bmust be so constructed as to interlock, and thus hold on the railswithout any special fastening device.

For the purpose of interlocking the rails, I have provided them withtenons and mortises, which tenons D are alternately formed on theopposite bases, as shown in Fig. 1. The

tenons may be made dovetailed, or may each consist of a prong providedat the free end with a head, or the said prong may be at right angles tothe edge of the base-plate or inclined to the same, and the head formedon the end of the prong may be of any desired shape. The prongs may beprovided with offsets along the longitudinal central line of therailbase, as shown. When the clamp -bars are placed on the rail,they arelocked together by the tenons, and cannot be removed from the ends ofthe rails, which they hold firmly united.

When a wheel runs on the rail 0, it presses the same downward, thuscausing the outer edges of the base of the rail to press downward thecenter edges of the bases of the clamp-bars, thereby pressing the upperparts of the clamp-bars firmly against the sides of the rails. Theclamp-bars are thus pressed firmly against both rails, and if onedescends under the load of the engine it will draw the other down withit, and thus hammering of the end of the rail is prevented.

If desired, the clamp-bars may be provided with lugs or wings E, ofwhich the one on the outside clamp-bar projects slightly above the topof the rail, and the one on the inner clampbar is below the head; Theflange of the wheel runs on the inner lug or wing, and the tread of thewheel will be raised slightly above the uppersurface of the head atthejoint. As one of the other wheels acts on the rail the downwardpressure on the rail can still press the clamp-bars A against the railat the same time that the other wheel is being carried over the joint bymeans of the lugs, wings, or bridge pieces E.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent A railroad -rail clamp consisting of two clamp-barsshaped to fit against the web and top of the base of the rail, whichclamp-bars each have a flat straight base part so constructed that whenthe outer edge of the base part rests against the under side of therailbase the inner edge will be a short distance from the inner side ofthe rail'base, the said base parts being provided with tongues or tenonsand recesses for locking them together, substantially as herein shownand described.

WILLIAM EMMEIT.

Witnesses:

OSCAR F. GUNZ, O. SEnGWIoK.

